Find Friends: iPhone App Review

If there was ever any question about whether we're in the future now or not, then the Find Friends app should surely confirm it. This is an extremely simple app. After connecting with other friends with the app, you can now see where each other are. Did you catch that? Its easy to miss what this app is for because its so simple. And yet, when you think of the implications, its downright intense.

If you're worried about Find Friends being an invasion of privacy, remember, you have to physically confirm whether or not you want people to follow you. As requests come in, you can confirm or deny them. Even if you feel guilted into connecting with someone, you can turn off the ability for people to follow you. So if you don't want people to see where you are, why would you use this app anyway? Good question... why are you using this app?

Actually, after you stop thinking about the potential negatives of this app, you start to see pretty quickly how many fantastic uses Find Friends is good for. Lets say you get home after work before your spouse and its your turn to make dinner. By using Find Friends, you can see where he or she is on a map in the app so you know how long it will be before they get home. This will help you figure out when to put the water on to boil, when to start the oven, and more.

How about trips to theme parks with friends? Lets say one group wants to split off and go do something else while another group heads in another direction. You can enable the app's ability to allow people to see where you are for a certain period of time. That way throughout the whole day the other group will know where you are and can meet up when you reconvene. This would also work if you met a friend at a large concert of trade show.

For those of you who still worry about privacy, even the safety features and privacy checks may not be enough for you. But if you're interested in this app and think you could use it, you're probably already fine with people knowing where you happen to be sitting at the moment.

Give it a whirl, its free on the iTunes App Store.

Stuff You Should Watch: Conan O'Brien Can't Stop

So public and talked about was the drama surrounding Conan O'Brien's departure from the Tonight Show that it seems silly for me to rehash it all at the beginning of this post. Because really, you know the story. Conan worked on his own show and perfected it over years and waited in the wings to get his crown jewel -- The Tonight Show. Only a few months later, because of mismanagement by NBC and a stubborn large chinned former host, Conan was out. And thus began what I think was Conan's true rise in Hollywood. Conan O'Brien Can't Stop chronicles the time between his departure from the Tonight Show, and his eventual new gig at TBS.

The most surprising thing about Conan O'Brien Can't Stop is the surprisingly honest way Conan himself is displayed in this documentary. The movie is a series of candid interviews and footage from O'Brien's stage show tour in the time period after the Tonight Show when he was banned from appearing on TV. With nothing to do, he took off on a stage tour that featured his comedy and musical talents. Whatever you may have thought you knew about Conan before this part of his life, this documentary show Conan -- the complete Conan.

Conan's incessant style of comedy which works so well on TV and stage doesn't stop when the lights go down or the cameras are off. In this documentary you see his mind at work, constantly. The title couldn't be any more appropriate. At times, its non-stop and members of his staff are often the subject of his practicing of his craft. While they go through what can be called a mild but sometimes acute form of abuse, you can tell they're in it with him. You can tell they probably felt just as much pain as he did after the whole NBC debacle. And because of that you can see that Conan O'Brien is not just a man, but a group of people that support a show that they love. The show may change channels and may even change how its presented (TV vs. stage) but in the end its about funneling the immense talent of one man into a manageable and coherent show.

This documentary also shows the strange price of fame. If you remember during this time, fan reaction to what happened to Conan reached fever pitch. Demonstrations were held, memes flew through the Internet at light speed, and powerful slogans such as "I'm with Co-Co" started popping up. For a time, half of my friends on Facebook sported the orange haired logo. In Can't Stop you see what this time period was like for him. He's obviously happy with the support -- he wouldn't have put his team, his mind or his body through the punishment of traveling all over the country for this stage show if he didn't appreciate his fans like he does. However, no person can hold up without having a few mental breaks. You can see his frustration at being flooded with love. Everyone wants a piece of him. Photographs, conversations, special requests. They're all made out of love from fans to their hero, but when there are literally millions of fans and just one Conan, you can imagine how taxing that can be on one person. They amazing thing about this documentary, is that they left footage of how he deals with this in.

Conan O'Brien Can't Stop is on Netflix streaming right now. I highly recommend you watch this. As a fan, I learned a heck of a lot more about Conan than I had ever known. I really appreciated how much of what was such a weird period of time in his life he has allowed us to see.

Have a watch and let me know what you thought. Post your comments below.

LEGO Project: Saucer Scout

The LEGO Project series is a look through the Second Snack collection of LEGO sets from Thomas’ childhood as well as some modern sets. For years these LEGO bricks and pieces have been laying dormant in plastic bins but with the pooled resources of the Internet, reassembling sets is now a reality.

Its been years, heck, over a decade and I still don't know how to feel about this one. No I'm lying, I know exactly how to feel about the LEGO Saucer Scout. I don't like it. Its just weird.

I mean look at it. How on earth is that mini-fig supposed to fly the Saucer Scout without tossing his cookies? If it spins, and so does he, he'll be dizzy in just a few seconds. What good is a sick scout? I'd give this model some props if it was designed well but I dunno.. its just boring. Quickly thrown together and looks like it will fall apart fast.

LEGO may have felt the same because the Saucer Scout wasn't part of a fully fleshed out team. There were only a couple of sets in the Spyrius' team and it didn't last long. Like the Saucer Scout, they were weird too.

LEGO is great, almost perfect really. But once in a while, even the best have to falter sometimes. Unfortunately, this is one of those examples.

Disagree with me? Post your comments below!

Meme Monday: Creepin' A-Rod

Meme Monday brings you a weekly Internet Meme that we have found. Internet Memes are described as something that catches on like wildfire with Internet communities with no outside source of promotion. They exist purely for enjoyment and laughs.